2019 Elections In Westport: Brisk But Light Voter Turnout

WESTPORT, CT — The polls are now open and voting has begun in Westport's 2019 municipal election, and turnout has been brisk if not overwhelming. Among the positions up for grabs include seats on the Board of Finance, Board of Education, Planning and Zoning Commission and Representative Town Meeting. The First Selectman and Board of Selectmen posts are not up for election this year.

Polls opened at 6 a.m. and will remain open until 8 p.m. As of 4 p.m., 4783 voters had cast ballots in Westport, out of a total number of 18,606 registered voters in Westport, according to Marla Cowden, Democratic Registrar of Voters.

Voters who are in line before 8 p.m. will be able to vote even after the deadline passes. You can find your poll location at the Secretary of the State website by inputting your information.

This year, three polling sites for three districts have changed, click here for information.

In Westport, four seats are up on the Board of Finance, and there are four candidates, two Democrats and two Republicans: Democrats Nancie Dupier and Sheri Gordon and Republicans James A. Foster and Jay DesMarteau. Michael Guadarrama is no longer on the ballot.

Return to Patch for results as they come in. To sign up for Westport breaking news alerts and more, click here.

For the Board of Education, Democrats Youn Su Chao and Lee Goldstein are running against Republicans Liz Heyer and Vik Muktavaram. Three seats are up for grabs.

On the Board of Assessment Appeals, Republican Garson F. Heller Jr. is unopposed. Additionally, the three candidates for the Zoning Board of Appeals are essentially running unopposed because voters will elect three. They are Democrat James Ezzes, and Republicans Thomas B. Hood Jr. and Liz Wong.

For the four available seats on the Planning and Zoning Commission, six candidates are running. Democratic candidate Paul Lebowitz and Coalition for Westport party candidate Joseph Strickland Jr. are running against Republicans Jon Olefson, Al Gratrix Jr., Chip Stephens and Catherine Walsh. Olefson, Gratrix, Stephens and Walsh also are endorsed by the Save Westport Now party.

On the nonpartisan Representative Town Meeting, all 36 seats are up for election; voters will select up to four candidates from each of Westport's nine districts:

District 1

Kristin Mott Purcell

Richard Jaffe

Matthew Mandell

Chris Tait

TJ Elgin

District 2 (All four will be elected)

Christine Meiers Schatz

Jay Keenan

Harris Falk

Louis M. Mall

District 3

Arline P. Gertzoff

Ross Burkhardt

Jimmy Izzo

Amy Kaplan

Mark Friedman

District 4

Chris Pulichino

Noah Hammond

Andrew J. Colabella

Kristan Hamlin

Jeffrey N. Wieser

District 5

Peter A. Gold

Greg Kraut

Dick Lowenstein

Karen A. Kramer

Nicole Klein

District 6

Candace Dohn Banks

Cathy Talmadge

Chas Durkin

Seth Braunstein

Jessica Bram

District 7

Ellen Lautenberg Hendel

Jack Klinge

Lauren Karpf

Brandi Briggs

Lisa Parrell Gray

District 8 (All four will be elected)

Carla L. Rea

Stephen Shackelford

Wendy G. Batteau

Lisa Newman

District 9

Lauren Soloff

Velma E. Heller

Kristin Schneeman

Sal Liccione

Albert T. Strazza

Connecticut offers Election Day registration, but those who arrive need to be registered by 8 p.m. in order to vote. Click here for information on Westport's Election Day registration. Unlike in previous elections, registered voters standing in line before 8 p.m. to registrar won't guarantee the ability to vote.

Emergency application ballots are available for unforeseen circumstances within six days of the election.